Nicola Marsh's road to Publication

Nicola reveals her way to publication of her Indie book Crazy Love here
It is an awesome and very brave story!

For you Indie- pubbed authors out there, what was your journey like?

New Book!

My Fav contemporary author Nicola Marsh has just released her first Indie Published book, Crazy Love!

Blurb from Nicola's blog:

All's fair in love...and matchmaking!

Sierra Kent doesn’t do love. 
While she embraces the quaintness of her home town Love and delights in matchmaking her clients through her Internet dating agency Love Byte, she doesn’t trust her intuition when it comes to the one emotion that has repeatedly let her down. 

City-slick Marc Fairley, CEO of LA's premier acquisition company, doesn’t have time for Love. 
From the minute he enters the kitschy town he can’t wait to hotfoot back to LA with his deranged mother in tow. 
Instead, he gets roped into the town's Love Fest hoopla, investigates the shady farmer his mom is engaged to, berates his butler for a mad crush on a brash Aussie waitress, and finds himself falling for the brazen red-head who continually baits him.
His life couldn't get any crazier.
Until he discovers in exacting revenge on his father and achieving his lifelong goals, he may lose the one thing he values most...

Can Sierra and Marc create enough sparks to send Love up in flames? 
And prove that winning isn’t everything in the love stakes, it’s how you play the game.

At $2.99 on Amazon kindle it is a bargain. I've just downloaded it and am dying now to read it but have to wait until next weekend when i have no kids, no hubby and just me and group of girlfriends!

Go on, snap it up now!

It's been more than a month??

OMG, i have not posted in more than a month.
I have, however been writing! When i read Nicola Marsh's Not the Marrying Kind it got my creative juices flowing and i have been attacking my Princess story. I have been dreaming of this story for ages and know all the key scenes. They just need to be written!
So slowly, very slowly (i have to juggle writing time with study time, kids, dog, hubby and home!) i have been adding to my word count.

A sneak of my WIP? Okay!
This is the first time my heroine Tori sets her eyes on her hero Max.
Enjoy!

Compared to the other three he stood relaxed, his weight balanced slightly on his left leg. His suit was a darker grey that somehow exuded unrestrained power.

Tori immediately wondered why he would need bodyguards. The fabric of his pants showed clearly the strength in his long muscled legs. His buttoned jacket, tailored to broad shoulders, tapered to a narrow waist that just showed the strength in his torso more clearly. It was clear to her he would be able to handle himself.

Her perusal and musings were stopped in their tracks when he spoke and her gaze rose swiftly to his mouth. He had a rich rumbling British accent, tinged slightly with the lilt of Ireland. It flowed through her so quickly, warming her body, and settled the spinning in her tummy to that of a calm lap against a sandy beach. She felt safe and absent of fear.

Why would a man’s voice affect her so much, especially one she’d never heard?

“Ma’am. It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

Her mother stepped forward and accepted his greeting with a little smile, a slight flush tinting her pale cheeks as she curtsied. Curtsied!

Kissing her cheek, the man held her close and said something in her ear that made her mother break out in a proper smile. He released her and when Tori tore her fascinated gaze from her mother being enfolded in her husband’s bracing arm, she was arrested by the deepest pair of blue eyes. The gentle lapping in her tummy stilled and lay quiet as she drowned in their depths. The dark blue with hints of gold, as his strength had done had her at peace, safe and protected, Like she was home.

Why then was her heart hammering so hard she was sure everyone could hear it, or at least see it trying it’s darndest to explode from her chest. Drowned as she was in his bottomless eyes, she vaguely saw a curtain of soft dark hair framing a strong face, a long straight nose and thin lips. In the depths of her wavering vision she saw a young boy, waves of ebony hair swirling around his face as he raced over tumbled stones scattered on uneven ground, his mouth open in a laugh as he looked over his shoulder.

Who was he?

“Victoria.” With a bow of his head he spoke her name in a tone so full of joy but so formal it made her want to cry. The expression in his eyes were at odds with his tone yet so unfathomable to her. It was said exactly as she heard it in her head, the young boy turned towards her with laughter and affection in his gaze. Tori was so overwhelmed with her emotions she ignored his outstretched hands, obviously expecting her to accept his greeting as her mother had. 

Not the Marrying Kind

Nicola Marsh's newest release - also her first with Entangled Publishing, is out now!
And already gaining rave reviews!!!

Here's a blurb to whet your appetite (but you don't need it do you! You love Nicola Marsh's witty, sassy writing and are going to buy it anyway, right!)

Diva Las Vegas!

When investors tarnish the King of Construction’s reputation he’s forced to prove his respectability…by finding a wife!

Beck Blackwood, desert bad-boy made good, will do whatever it takes to expand his construction company nationwide. Including blackmail a woman guaranteed to drive him crazy, into marriage.

LA party planner Poppy Collins is a woman on a mission: save her sister’s sanity. Determined to keep business afloat, Poppy pitches for the divorce party of the century to Vegas hotshot Beck Blackwood, not expecting a proposal of a different kind.

Beck leaves Poppy no option. Marry him or her Divorce Diva Daily secret is out and her sister’s business implodes. He holds a winning hand. However, Beck hasn’t played the game with a defiant woman who has a few tricks of her own!

In the city of high stakes and high flyers, can the Divorce Diva and the construction king take a gamble on love and beat the odds?

Go buy it now!

Busted...

My goodness i have been very remiss on the blog the past few weeks. Crazy with final stuff for kids' school and kindy things, knitting (i've taught myself and am now addicted!), and getting ready for the drive to Wellington for the Christmas period!

On Dec 6 Nicola Marsh's new contemporary romance hit the shelves!
Busted in Bollywood is an eclectic mix of contemporary romance/romantic comedy/chicklit/women's fiction. Think 'Sex and the City' meets 'Eat, Pray, Love.'
This story is written entirely in first person narrative by the leading lady Shari Jones.

This fantastic book is available from Book Depository (free worldwide postage!), Barnes and Nobles, Amazon and Kindle.

For those you love a humorous romance with a good dollop of culture and heaps of food, this is the novel for you!

Here is the blurb:

Shari Jones needs to get a life. Preferably someone else's.

Single, homeless and jobless, Indo-American Shari agrees to her best friend's whacky scheme: travel to Mumbai, pose as Amrita, and ditch the fiancé her traditional Indian parents have chosen. Simple. Until she's mistaken for a famous Bollywood actress, stalked by a Lone Ranger wannabe, courted by an English lord, and busted by the blackmailing fiancé.

Life is less complicated in New York.

Or so she thinks, until the entourage of crazies follows her to the Big Apple and that's when the fun really begins. Shari deals with a blossoming romance, an addiction to Indian food and her first movie role, while secretly craving another trip to the mystical land responsible for sparking her new lease on life. Returning to her Indian birthplace, she has an epiphany. Maybe the happily-ever-after of her dreams isn't so far away?

Go on, get yourself a copy today!!

Conflict or GMC

GMC?
I've heard this acronym a few times during my blog hopping.
Briefly it means Goal Motivation Conflict.

All our characters come to the story with their own backgrounds, battle scars and inner conflict.
Well, they should do anyway, to make your story and characters believable to your readers.

Kate Walker in her 12 point guide to Writing Romance (excellent book!) tells us that the most important element of conflict is internal, the stuff that goes on in the character's head, the stuff that gives reason to their thoughts and actions. As a writer we must use this internal conflict so show character growth, how they change in order to achieve their HEA.
Kate explains (p 43) that the emotions involved in the characters internal conflict, affect the character's thinking, but they are unaware of them.
The internal conflict comes out when the Hero and Heroine meet and clash, this forces them to each face their own fears or inner demons.

I realised after writing a good 5k of my Status Quo story that i didn't really have a good handle on my characters conflicts.
So using what i've picked up during my blog hopping i tried to break them down.

Goal: What the hero/ine wants
Motivation: Why they want it
Conflict: If the hero/ine wins the other loses.

For me (and i could be very, very wrong!), on examining my characters and some of the books i love, i've found two sets of GMC for each character. (I think this was brought about by the character questionnaire on Nicola Marsh's website!)
The first set is the clear goal and reason that we are given right at the beginning of the story - should be within the first few pages of meeting each of them.
Then as we read, we discover a deeper Goal and motivation - which to me is stemmed from the conflict of the first, but at a deeper layer.
Have i lost you?

Okay, a bit of behind the scenes look to hopefully help explain this!

So in my story Emma wants Matt. They have been best friends for ever and she has been in love with him for just about the same amount of time. But when they kissed on New Years, it was made plain to her that they were made for each other. He stirred her blood in a way no other man had come close to. And that's what she wants.
So Emma's initial GMC is
G: To have Matt,
M: She loves him and he stirs a passion in her she wants for life.
C: they are best friends and she could lose him by insisting on this.

Then as the story develops we learn that deep down Emma's goal is to love and be loved with a passion and foreverness otherwise missing in her life. Her motivation is from  how she felt in Matt's arms, how they are together doing mundane things. Her conflict, is that she may just not be good enough for the type of love and passion she desperately craves, after all her parents seemed to forget about her once they started their separate lives.

So, tell me. Do you think i've completely missed the point, or overcomplicated it?
How do you work out your characters conflict and motivations?

Bolly-Bites

Nicola Marsh is stopping by to give us a tasty recipe from her new novel Busted in Bollywood out on December 6th!

Thanks to Kerrin for inviting me to pop in as part of my BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD blog tour.  I was thrilled she enjoyed the book and gave it a glowing review!

BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD is a contemporary romance/romantic comedy/chicklit/women’s fiction novel. Think ‘Sex and the City’ meets ‘Eat, Pray, Love.’ With food. Loads of food!

For anyone following this tour, you’ll know I’m sharing my love of food, posting Indian recipes for dishes taken from the book in my BOLLY-BITES.

I’m hoping you’ll stock up on spices and cook up a storm alongside me!

Today’s BOLLY-BITE is a drink Shari becomes hooked on in Mumbai.

(This is my dad’s version.)

MASALA CHAI

Ingredients (makes 2 cups)

1 cup water

1 cup milk

3 tspns black tea leaves

4 cardamoms

2 cm cinnamon stick

4 peppercorns

2cm-thick slice ginger

Sugar to taste

Method:

Peel the cardamoms.  Pound (in mortar and pestle) or grind (electronic gizmo) cardamom pods, cinnamon and peppercorns to a powder.

Place water and milk in a small saucepan. Add the ground spices and ginger. Bring to boil.

Add tea leaves when starts to boil.

Boil 1 minute.

Strain liquid into cups.

Add sugar to taste.

Hope you’ll join me for more tasty Indian BOLLY-BITES coming up.  For details of recipe stops on the tour, check out my blog.

There are so many different teas on the market these days. 

To be in the running to win an E-book of BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD, leave a comment about your favourite type/brand of tea. More exotic the better!

Thanks so much for the tasty recipe Nicola, and thanks for stopping by :)

USA TODAY bestseller Nicola Marsh has published 30 books with Harlequin Romance and Presents series, and BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD is her first mainstream contemporary romance with Entangled Publishing.

She loves chatting with readers and you can find her:

Website: http://www.nicolamarsh.com

Blog: http://nicolamarsh.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/NicolaMarshAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/NicolaMarsh

Fancy an Indian feast?

Nicola Marsh is going a Bolly-Bites blog tour, where she will give out fantastic recipes for the Indian dishes featuring in her new book Busted in Bollywood!
She's given her first recipe on her blog today, a Lentil Soup and man i can just smell the aroma....

Nicola will be dropping by here early December for give us another recipe, but check out her blog to find all the Bolly-Bites (recipes!) as she does her blog tour!

A taste of India

I've just finished devouring Nicola Marsh's ARC for Busted in Bollywood.
As the title suggests it has all the flavours of a Bollywood movie: the sights, the sounds, colours, the food, and drama.

I loved following Shari's journey of re-discovery, both of herself and her heritage. I especially loved the flavour of all things Indian that Nicola Marsh weaved though this story.

So much so that i have an urge to find recipes and create the fabulous dishes Shari experiences. I think i'll even be renting a Bollywood movie to try to catch the same excitement.
This is a story not to be missed!

If you like Nicola's flirty style, mixed with exposure to another culture, you are in for a real treat. And luckily you don't have to waited too long! December 6 is the release date, go here to order!

Busted in Bollywood

I've just read a snippet from Nicola Marsh's upcoming book Busted in Bollywood, out on Dec 6.

I love her writing, fresh, funny and very good i am so envious of her way with words!

Click here to read the snippet, but i've also put a handy link on the right sidebar :)

The Beta Hero

This is the hero that doesn't start out as the hero of the story. Or the writer indicates that he is, but the heroine doesn't see it!
Perhaps a best friend of the hero or heroine.
Someone who is always there, maybe as shoulder for the heroine to cry on, the man to offer support as she goes through her disastrous relationships.
The guy who loves her just as she is, but she doesn't know it!

Raquel Byrnes has an excellent post, using Sweet Home Alabama as an example and goes into much deeper explanations. It's awesome. She calls this guy the Bad Boy with Potential.
I see him as the Beta Hero. Not as dominating or successful as the Alpha Male, but with many alpha qualities that quietly come to the fore. Qualities that have us truly rooting for him. The galant knight who doesn't stand in the spotlight - that's not his thing.

Nicola Marsh has an awesome article on her site giving explanations about the differences between the Alpha and the Beta hero. Things like, Beta heroes are more laid back, but the Alpha is driven; Beta's seem to be able to express themselves better than the Alpha - (possibly to do with that laid back attitude!).

To tell the truth, i've always preferred the Beta hero in the movies! Maybe that's because we are made to realise very early in the story that he is the true hero? Hmm.

My hero for my story with Matt and Emma, he has been the beta hero for most of Emma's life, before the story starts. The difference is that she has always loved him. (Maybe she has been the beta heroine? Hmm, that bears some thought!)

What do you think? Have any good examples either from your own writing or fav books or movies?
What the qualities you like best in a hero - Beta or Alpha!

25% off!

I'm not one to let go of a deal - especially when it means the books are cheaper than in the store and i can chose a nicer cover!

Nicola Marsh has two new books coming out early 2012. With 25% off at book depository it's the perfect chance to try her if you haven't already. As her tag line says, her writing is flirty fiction with flare and believe me, you won't be disappointed!

Go pre-order them now!

Pitching your story: a contest!

Ever written a 1 or 2 sentence description of your completed story? No?
Well get started!
Entangled Publishing are seeking submissions and Nicola Marsh has a competition.

Pop over to her blog and follow her (if you haven't already), then pop a comment under the post with your pitch, the title, your name and the story word count to be in the draw!

Up for grabs is a first 5 pages critique from Entangled Publishing editor AND from Nicola Marsh herself!

If my story was completed, i'd be entering, so don't miss this opportunity!
Nicola has also included links to some great blogs for advice on how to write a successful pitch.
Do it!

Busted in Bollywood - cover reveal!

Wow, look at this new fabulous book from Nicola Marsh! Releasing soon, December 6! so be sure to check out her website then to buy a copy! - just click on the street team icon on the right and it will take you straight there!

BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD

Doesn't it just look awesome!
Here is a blurb:

Shari Jones needs to get a life. Preferably someone else’s.

Single, homeless and jobless, Indo-American Shari agrees to her best friend’s whacky scheme: travel to Mumbai, pose as Amrita, and ditch the fiancé her traditional Indian parents have chosen. Simple. Until she’s mistaken for a famous Bollywood actress, stalked by a Lone Ranger wannabe, courted by an English lord, and busted by the blackmailing fiancé.

Life is less complicated in New York.

Or so she thinks, until the entourage of crazies follows her to the Big Apple and that’s when the fun really begins. Shari deals with a blossoming romance, an addiction to Indian food and her first movie role, while secretly craving another trip to the mystical land responsible for sparking her new lease on life. Returning to her Indian birthplace, she has an epiphany. Maybe the happily-ever-after of her dreams isn’t so far away?

And, a sneak six sentence look at the book that Nicola posted on her blog on the weekend!

Between Anjali’s sniping at the family and Rita’s dossier, I gathered the Ramas were rich, very rich. And by the size of their newly white-washed two-story house, they were loaded. In a country where real estate was at a premium, these guys had a monopoly on space, their house taking up a quarter of the block.

“Nice place,” I said, smoothing the chiffon of my kameez and hoping all the drama training at high school would count for something in the hours ahead.
“All pomp and show.” Anjali’s glare at the house would’ve exploded bricks if she’d had superhuman powers. “A fat cow needs a big barn.”


I love Nicola's voice so i'll be sure to grab a copy! Will you?


(edited: Oops, this isn't a YA! My bad, sorry Nicola!!)

Book Review: Nicola Marsh

Buy it now!

I bought this story yesterday after i noticed on Nicola's blog (Romance, Rumours and Rogues) that this story was out for 0.99c on amazon kindle! She'd given a teaser to this on her blog either earlier in the year or end of last year, and i've wanted to read the whole thing ever since!

You all know that i LOVE Nicola Marsh's work. It's fresh, lively and i would so love to be able to capture her magic in my own writing (i'll just have to keep practicing and find my own!).

Fox and Lee are two very strong characters. You only have 7,200 words to get to know them, but on the last sentence i felt that i did know them. At least enough to anticipate what could possibly happen next!

Fast, hot and sizzling, with nowhere-to-run desire, this is a story you will devour in a few minutes. I only wanted more!

Here is the description from Amazon: 

A Victorian Police Special Ops team leader joins forces with an Australian Defence Force Tactical Assault Group expert who specializes in biological warfare to stop an imminent chemical threat.

When the threat becomes personal and the body count mounts, they find themselves locked in a safe room, where they discover their sizzling history takes little to ignite.

(Previously published in The Mammoth Book of Special Ops)

Don't you just love how strong they both are!
Go, on buy it! It will certainly not disappoint!

Nicola Marsh giveaway!

My absolutely fav Mills and Boon author, Nicola Marsh, is doing a massive giveaway! 7 of her fabulous books!!
Visit her blog for entry details to get her awesome "fun flirty fiction with flare!"

I have a few reviews of her books on my blog, so have a browse to find out why i like her stories!

Monthly Book review

Overtime in the Boss's Bed by Nicola Marsh.

If you aren't a Mills and Boon reader that's okay, i wasn't in the past. They are a fantastic quick read. Right to the story, good characters, great story line, all about passion and heart and conflict - well depending on the line you choose of course :)

I just love Nicola Marsh. Her stories are fun, fast paced and... well you just have to read them to know what it is! She has that something about her stories that, despite the small size of the book, they really pack a punch!

I am traditionally a single title lover - you know the 100,000+ word novel. But her books are fantastic and this one...man!

Starr and Callum are hot, sassy and so good together you root for them right from page one! Go and buy it, you won't regret it!!

What did you read this month that you just have to gush about?

Halfway lag

Oh dear! I have found myself lacking motivation to even open my pages document to write!

I have finished editing Nicole's fabulous story Birthright and man is it good! I really can't wait to read the next installment.

To get me back into the motivational vent of Modern Heat i have the newest book by Nicola Marsh , Overtime in the Boss's Bed and i really can't wait to read this one. Nicola's books are so great to read. spunky and fun and they just sizzle!

I'm also going to start Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Romance

and keep you updated with my progress through the exercises so stay tuned :)

Love and Heroes

Seeing as February contains the traditional day of romance and love, Nicola Marsh, is hosting a special event on her blog featuring authors from Mills and Boon and the Heroes that inspired their stories.

You may even go in the draw to win copies of their awesome books!

Who are your favourite heroes?

My all time literary favourite is Mr Darcy. There are not enough words to write...who am i kidding, there is not enough SPACE to write about him. I loved his transformation from stuffy arrogant man to being brought to his knees by love but still proud of who he is. sigh.

And Julie Garwood's magical highlanders in Saving Grace, Ransom, The Secret, and Honour's Splendor.

I dream of being able to write such magical heroes and settings....